Letters from Yellowstone
Letters from Yellowstone by Diane Smith is a reissue published by Penguin Books in 2000, comprising 226 pages in English. This epistolary novel follows A. E. (Alexandria) Bartram, a spirited young woman with a passion for botany, as she joins a field study in Yellowstone National Park in the spring of 1898. Initially mistaken for a man by the study’s leader, a mild-mannered professor, Alexandria’s presence challenges the group’s dynamics and leads to a summer filled with adventure and exploration amid the park’s stunning landscapes.
Readers will find a narrative rich in humor and excitement, as the team navigates their differing perspectives on science, nature, and economics while collecting specimens throughout Yellowstone. The story delves into themes of environmentalism, Native American displacement, and feminism, reflecting on the complexities of the era at the dawn of the twentieth century. Letters from Yellowstone offers a thoughtful exploration of scientific discovery and the beauty of America’s natural wonders, inviting readers to engage with the historical context and the relationships that develop within the group.
Official synopsis Publisher
For readers of Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, Elizabeth Gilbert‘s The Signature of All Things, and Hope Jahren’s Lab Girl, Diane Smith’s warmhearted and award-winning epistolary novel about a spunky young woman who joins a makeshift field study in Yellowstone National Park at the end of the nineteenth century
“I loved this book in a way that I haven’t loved a book in some time.” –James Welch, author of Fools Crow
In the spring of 1898, A. E. (Alexandria) Bartram–a spirited young woman with a love for botany–is invited to join a field study in Yellowstone National Park. The study’s leader, a mild-mannered professor from Montana, assumes she is a man, and is less than pleased to discover the truth. Once the scientists overcome the shock of having a woman on their team, they forge ahead on a summer of adventure, forming an enlightening web of relationships as they move from Mammoth Hot Springs to a camp high in the backcountry. But as they make their way collecting amid Yellowstone’s beauty, the group is splintered by differing views on science, nature, and economics.
Brimming with humor, excitement, and the romance of the Yellowstone landscape, Letters from Yellowstone is a love letter to the joys of scientific discovery and America’s majestic natural beauty, as well as a thoughtful reflection on environmentalism, Native American displacement, and feminism at the dawn of a new century.
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